Some of the top players in the league received many awards each year. A.Q. Shipley, the winner of Super Bowl LV, was not impressed with the majority of the wins, though.
“The NFL, I think, missed on almost every award,” Shipley stated on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “How, exactly, does Motor City Dan Campbell, M.C.D.C., not win Coach of the Year? For years, Detroit was on the verge of being forced to relocate.”Shipley’s point is made. Campbell has created something remarkable with the Lions, even if Kevin Stefanski, who took home the trophy after taking the Browns to the postseason with four different starting quarterbacks, deserves recognition as well.
Detroit’s record two years ago was 3-13-1. The squad completed 12-5 in 2023, took home the NFC North title, and lost the NFC Championship Game by just three points.
Coach of the Year wasn’t the only honor that the NFL botched, according to Shipley.
Shipley said, “Defense Player of the Year was the other prize. “Year’s Best Assistant Coach is… “I thought Mike Macdonald was pretty good.”
The most contentious of them all might be the Defensive Player of the Year selection. Browns DE Steelers LB Myles Garrett was the winner. In comparison, T.J. Watt recorded fewer tackles (68), sacks (19), interceptions (one), fumble recoveries (three), passes defensed (eight), and touchdowns (one) in 2023.In just the third quarter of Week 18, Watt recorded two more sacks than Garrett did in the last seven weeks of the season (one).
Finally, Shipley feels Macdonald had a greater case for Assistant Coach of the Year, but Jim Schwartz, the defensive coordinator for the Browns, was chosen.
Both men were in charge of two of the NFL’s top defenses. The Ravens gave up the fewest points per game (16.5), while the Browns gave up the fewest total yards (270.2).
The difference, though, is that Cleveland finished 11-6 and was eliminated from the postseason, while Baltimore finished 13-4 and was the AFC’s top seed, winning a playoff game. As a result, Macdonald was also named the new head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
Cleveland was the beneficiary of all three prizes, which is not to argue that Stefanski, Garrett, and Schwartz weren’t worthy recipients. Shipley, though, presents a compelling case—and one that I’m sure many others would agree with—that the NFL made some mistakes in selecting some of the annual awards.
